Taco Bell's Greg Creed: We're Falsely Accused

Speaking on the lawsuit that claims Taco Bell's meat mixture contains less than 35% beef, Greg Creed, President and Chief Concept Officer, told CNBC that his company has been falsely accused.

“We've been transparent,” he said, defending the Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) enterprise. “You could go on to our website three weeks ago and see the exact same info that you'd see today.”

Creed said that Beasley Allen, the law firm that filed the suit, has responded to Taco Bell's defense by saying that it didn't want to debate the lawsuit publicly; the irony, of course, is that Beasley Allen went to the public first.

“When your reputation has been falsely tarnished, we're gonna come out aggressively,” Creed said, noting that the facts on are on their side. “We haven't changed the 88% beef…for [at least] 10 years [it] hasn't changed.”

When asked if the lawsuit has had any impact on sales, Creed said that Taco Bell is in a blackout period, so he couldn't talk about earnings until they're released next week. “What I can say is our customers, our employees, our franchisees have come out and overwhelmingly supported us,” he said. “It's humbling to know we've got such a fan base out there defending us.”

According to Taco Bell's website, the company's seasoned ground beef includes:

Beef, Water, Seasoning [Isolated Oat Product, Salt, Chili Pepper, Onion Powder, Tomato Powder, Oats (Wheat), Soy Lecithin, Sugar, Spices, Maltodextrin, Soybean Oil (Anti-dusting Agent), Garlic Powder, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Citric Acid, Caramel Color, Cocoa Powder (Processed With Alkali), Silicon Dioxide, Natural Flavors, Yeast, Modified Corn Starch, Natural Smoke Flavor], Salt, Sodium Phosphates. CONTAINS SOYBEAN, WHEAT